08-20-2007, 09:03 AM

Hi. My band - Pony Chair Black - plans to record soon, maybe in a studio, maybe on a 4-track. I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me how best to go about this so we can mix the tracks in GarageBand.

Cheers.

08-20-2007, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by MartinS

Hi. My band - Pony Chair Black - plans to record soon, maybe in a studio, maybe on a 4-track. I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me how best to go about this so we can mix the tracks in GarageBand.

Cheers.

Mix or record?

From a studio, you would have to request that each track is bounced to a lossless (wave should work) file so all of them could be imported one at a time into garageband. From a 4 track would be much trickier if it's not digital as you would record from the analog device into a digital device and do one track at a time. Normally, tape 4 track recorders aren't normally known for their sound quality.

Or if you plan on doing more than just one recording, you can get some supplies and record directly to the computer yourself. I don't know how well garage band would work with this. I've never really used it too much and I'm not sure what the number of tracks recorded or the number of total tracks are limited to.

08-20-2007, 10:28 AM

As I said, record in a studio or on a 4-track and mix in GarageBand.

Our bass player has a Boss digital 4-track, but I'm not sure that's what we'll use. I don't see the point in spending money on studio time if we can mix in GarageBand.

08-20-2007, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by MartinS

As I said, record in a studio or on a 4-track and mix in GarageBand.

Our bass player has a Boss digital 4-track, but I'm not sure that's what we'll use. I don't see the point in spending money on studio time if we can mix in GarageBand.

Lots of reasons. A professional's experience an guidance. In house mix down. Quality equipment. Who ever is singing will sound 10x's better recording at a studio vs. through a 4 track. Plus mic'ing a set of drums with just 4 mics will be tough unless you're doing it with an electronic kit.

It may seem like a lot of money, but the quality of the recording will be much better and good matters. My business partner used to run a large night club and it shows that this holds true: When people would drop of a five song demo, he would probably listen to 30 seconds of the first song and maybe 5-10 seconds of the rest of each. If you're handing in a recording for anything and the quality isn't good, it's not going to do you any good.

I think that you would be better off using the 4 track and garage band for just if you wanted to record practices or whatever.

I'm not sure what the purpose of the recording is for, but that is my opinion.

edit: Plus going and and buying the gear to do your own recording with can be much more expsensive than studio time. Most charge between $25-$50 and hour where I live. We charge $35.

08-21-2007, 02:09 PM

Yeah, that sounds pretty, um, sound thinking. We're currently recording practises into a very cheap tape recorder with a condenser mike so they sound pretty rough. Besides, going into a studio is FUN!

It's almost like being a proper musician!